


Charm

by ZZ_Chikorita



Series: Jolly Rogers [13]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Brotherly Love, Childhood Trauma, Flirting, Friendship, Gen, Hawaiian Character, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Sibling Love, Tattoos, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23815870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZZ_Chikorita/pseuds/ZZ_Chikorita
Summary: A swim and some sleep have improved Guzma's mood. Plumeria's still sick of his shit though.
Relationships: Guzma & Plumeri | Plumeria
Series: Jolly Rogers [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680463
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	Charm

**Author's Note:**

> Ch. 13

Gentle waves rocked the pale man's body to and fro in a pleasing rythm. At last, he finally felt like he was really unwinding.  
However, the Team Skull Boss still couldn't shake this feeling of melancholy in the pit of his stomach. Sometimes he wished his long term memory was a little more shit like his short term memory. 

As he floated along, he felt the current and bubbles of a school of wishiwashi zoom by underneath him.  
A couple of remoraids swam up and prodded at him curiously to see if there were any parasites they could snack on. They quickly swam off once confirming that this strange-looking dewgong was clean. 

Guzma righted himself as a large mantine approached. It circled around him a few times. He reached out and let its silky, soft hide glide under his fingers.  
They might not be a Bug type, but he's always liked mantines.  
They come around, say hello, and are on their way. Don't ask for nothing, don't bother nobody, don't care about nothing. They just come... and then they go.  
Like the moon and the tides.

It'd sure be nice to achieve that level of chill. 

The graceful Water/Flying type reminded him of something... 

It's been forever since he's been surfing. Plumeria's been too busy with work to go with him. He could always go by himself but it's more fun to have someone else there. Then you have a witness to anything cool that happens.

Maybe later in the week, if Moon's not busy at the battle tree, she might wanna hang out. She's absolute garbador on a board but she's got some serious talent on a mantine. 

Guzma turned himself on his belly, exhaling in a plume of bubbles. She might be the singular, strongest trainer in Alola (who he himself has never defeated) but she's a fourteen year old girl and admitting she's one of his closest friends always hurts his manly pride.

"Bupid bagi'l bagu'inin'y,"1 he mumbled quite literally into the ocean, still floating like a dead man. 

He swears he wasn't always like that: Afraid of what people might think if he's not tough enough, not strong enough, not masculine enough...  
He wouldn't say he dislikes the person he is today, and he's great at keeping face, but there's still that tiny nugget of insecurity ingrained deep inside of him. 

He knows it's there, he can't get rid of it, and that pisses him off.  
He's aware of it because it's one of the Tauros shit things his dad decided he needed to beat into him as a child, again... and again... and again...

Guzma turned his head to the side, taking a deep breath. When he turned back, he exhaled about half the air, tucked his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He slowly began to sink below the ocean surface. The water grew colder as he descended.  
Under the surface is so calm... at a point, you can't even feel the tide anymore.  
It's just still and quiet. 

He felt his feet touch down on a rocky, shelf.  
The man sat there for a minute, tucked up and unmoving like a musharna using rest.  
He wasn't afraid of running out of air; Guzma has loved swimming ever since he was young.  
He's never timed himself, but he's fairly certain he can hold his breath up to six minutes.

Actually, that's a lie.  
When he was a kid, Guzma and... a close friend... would time each other to see who could hold it the longest. Back then, his record was four and a half minutes.  
After he started smoking in his late teens, he couldn't hold his breath for shit.  
Two minutes.  
At _most_. 

He smiled to himself.  
Withdrawal sucked exeggcutes, but he's proud of the progress he made.  
Who knows... maybe if he'd never smoked at all, he could hold it up to ten minutes, or more.  
But hey, six minutes is still a pretty sweet improvement from two. 

A warm glow beyond his closed eyelids distracted Guzma from his thoughts.  
He opened his eyes and saw three tiny chinchou swimming in front of him, each not even the size of his palm. Their antennae twitched and wiggled inquisitively at their odd visitor.

Guzma cupped his hands out in front of him. The little creatures exchanged looks and then cheerfully chased each other in circles within and above his hands.

A lanturn appeared a few feet away behind the rock shelf, the light on its feeler pulsing gently. 

Noticing, two of the chinchou sped away to its side. The third, smallest one, got caught in the eddy, and spun around in place, sinking into his pale hands in a dizzy slump.

Guzma smiled and lifted one hand, gently scratching the little pokémon on the side of the head with his finger.  
It's little bio-lights blinked happily.

He stretched his arm out toward the lanturn so that the small pokémon could see its mother's light better. 

After a moment, it swam upwards a couple inches and turned to Guzma. It blinked sweetly and did a charming backflip before turning back and returning to its lanturn. 

_Time to go home little one_ , he thought to himself.

Home...

Guzma looked up toward the surface, his thick hair floating all around his face in the weightlessness of the water. He could faintly see beams of light shining through.  
It's probably time to head back to Po Town.

He exhaled gradually as he swam to the surface, stopping halfway to decompress just a tiny bit. 

As he breached the surface, he took a nice big inhale of the fresh, salty ocean air.  
Using sweeping, powerful breast strokes, he made his way back to shore. 

He ended up several yards downshore from where he entered the water.  
As he pulled himself out, it dawned on him exactly how tired his muscles have become.

"Arc-damnit..." he grumbled, lying on the grassy knoll. 

His limbs felt like they're made out of lead. Stupid low-impact, weightless exercise. 

He flipped himself over onto his back and gazed at the sky.  
Although still dark out, the moon was riding low on the horizon. 

The boss closed his weary eyes.  
Maybe, if he just lays here and rests his eyes, he can get a couple hours of restful sleep before the sun comes up.

~~~

The door to the Po Town mansion swung open.  
In the foyer, several grunts were chatting and carrying on, a couple were on the ground studiously examining the books and papers they had laid out in front of them. Another few were in the corner, still passed out and desperately trying to hide their faces from the encroaching sunlight that filtered in the windows. Their ages ranged from fourteen to seventeen.

They all turned as Guzma came in.  
He had his pants back on but his jacket and tank were draped over his shoulder and he carried his shoes in his hand. His normally fluffy hair was still a little damp and deflated. His shades were down over his eyes.

Realizing everyone was staring at him but not saying anything, he smirked, stepped forward with one foot and held his arms out with his elbows bent and palms up. 

He announced:

" ** _Howzit, ya bunch of CUCKS?! Guzma's BACK!_** "

"BOSS!" 

The kids mobbed him, knocking him from side to side. They were hanging off of his waist, his arms, his shoulders... one of the twins even jumped up onto his back. Guzma widened his stance to stable himself, but the grunts sleeping in the corner (one of which was the other twin) had finally got up, and immediately ran over and tackled him, causing the tower of skull members to fall to the ground. 

"Howzit Boss! We missed ya!"

"Where ya been? Ya weren't at breakfast."

"Dere rumahs ya got a new pokémon! Whatzit?"

"What ya been up te, Boss?"

"You're not wearing your shirt! Can we see your kakau tattoo?!"2

Guzma sat up, trying to shake off the grunts.

"Get te fuck off me ya tynamo lolos! How ya 'spect me te speak wit ya'll gabbin' at once?!"

The grunts started to let go, allowing their boss to sit in a more comfortable position. Guzma sat himself cross-legged and set his glasses on the top of his head. 

"Blue, get off me before I break both ya Tapu-fucking-arms."

The grunt on his back let go and scooted over to join all the other members who were sitting in a semi circle around their boss. 

Guzma inhaled deeply, held it for a moment, and then exhaled,  
"Ok..."

He pointed at each individual grunt as he addressed their questions,

"It's been a'ight, nuh-ting too bad. I missed ya fakas too!  
Went for a swim then took a nap on te beach. I'm already regretting not eatin'.  
Yes I recently acquired a new partner, y'all'll get te see her at the grinds tonight.  
Like I said: went swimming 'cuz I do whatevah te fuck I want.  
And..."

He pulled the jacket and tank off his shoulder and spun 180 degrees on the ground.

"Yes ya can see my tatt but don't touch. Y'all so fuckin' touchy all te Arc-damn time!"

The group erupted into a bunch of 'whoa!'s and 'cool!'s and 'shoots!'s as they marveled at the large design stretching between each shoulder and down to the small of his back.

The dark purple ink swirled into an incredibly stylistic portrait of a golisopod who was posed in a sturdy stance with its front claws crossed in front of its thorax. Elaborate ocean waves billowed around the magnificent pokémon.3

Not even ten seconds had past before a few of the grunts started tracing the intricate designs with their fingers.

"Te fuck did I say?!" Guzma spouted, standing up, "Can't trust nunya fakas!"

The group exploded into 'Aw man!'s and 'Come on!'s and 'But Boss!'s as Guzma pulled his jacket on. 

He doesn't mind being touched, he really doesn't. It's just... it would be a tragedy (for him) if the grunts were to find out just how ticklish their big, bad Team Skull Boss is. 

"What y'all doin' here anyways? Don't y'all got school today?"

"It's Sunday ya silly lolo!" giggled one of the girls.

"We need te git te boss a calendar y'all." added another grunt.

"Or at _least_ a working watch!" smirked Pink, the twin who tackled him earlier, dangling the alledgedly-gold-plated accessory in front of Guzma's face. 

He snatched it out of his hand and gave the teen a look. Old habits die hard he supposed. Even if said habit is pick pocketing. 

"Whatever... scatter, ya vullabies," he said as he dismissed them, waving his hands, "I got sand in my hair, among other places, and I need te shower." 

The grunts dispersed and went back to their business. The boss sauntered up the stairs.  
When he got to the top, he saw Plumeria leaning in the doorway of her room.

"Do ya gotta call the grunts a 'bunch of cucks'?"

"What? It's funny! And they love it! And at this point, if I say anything less offensive, they'll think I'm experiencing multiple organ failure or some shit!"

"Ya got a point," she admitted, shrugging.

"But thanks for the concern, Sistah."

Guzma started to continue walking but stopped and turned back around.

"Oi! I needs a favor. Can ya help me with a lil bit of damage control later? I gots a new pokémon and I wanna show her off tonight at dinner."

"You got a new pokémon? You never tell me nothin' no more! What is it?"

"Hey, I'd love to chat all morning-"

"It's 12:34 in the afternoon."

"Hey, I'd love to chat all afternoon, but I need a shower fo' shizzle right nizzle."

Plumeria just looked at him. 

"But, Goli's looking after her in my room, so go check her out if you want to. Unless..."

Guzma put his arm around the waist of the small-framed woman.

"You wanna join me, of course."

"Oh Guzma..." she murmured, gently dragging a finely manicured nail up his bare stomach. She slowly moved onto his pectorals underneath his jacket, "If there's one thing I've always admired about you..." 

Much to the boss's surprise, she was seductively tracing her nail delicately around his areola... until...

"OH SHIT, SON OF A BITCH!"

"...it's your _tenacity_." 

Guzma keeled over in pain while the Team Skull Admin twisted the soft, tender tissue. 

"PLUMS! I'M SORRY! OH FUCK! I GIVE, I GIVE! DRAMPA! SWEET BULU, MAKE IT STOP!"

Satisfied with the result, she finally let go, leaving her boss whimpering dramatically and massaging his sore skin.

"You fall for it every Arc-damn time!" she cackled. 

Guzma extended a hand out to nowhere and stared off into the distance.

In a weak, cracking voice, he recited, " _Is it not strange that desire should so many years outlive performance?_ "4

"Also, your not allowed to borrow my books anymore!"

"Damnit... Oh well. Worth a shot!" he concluded, getting up and dusting himself off.

"Go take your shower ya pignite," she laughed, shoving the back of his head lovingly, "Never thought I'd meet someone as bad at being gay as you are, māhū."

"Hey, I'm not gay! I'm too amazing for that." He flipped his shades back down over his eyes. "I may be the big bad Team Skull Boss, but I don't discriminate. Your boy's got enough _love_ for everyone!" he explained, shimmying jokingly back up to her.

She pushed him away again while chuckling,  
"Go, you big dork!"

As he walked away, he spun around and walked backwards, making a heart shape with his hands.

She responded by pretending she 'discovered' her middle finger after pulling it out of her cleavage.

Once Guzma finally closed the door to the bathroom, Plumeria glanced over at his room across the banister. 

"Hmm..." she hummed to herself, "Let's go see what the fuss is about..."

**Author's Note:**

>  **Foot notes:**  
>  **1.** "Stupid fragile masculinity"
> 
>  **2.** Kakau: The traditional Polynesian tattooing technique. Literally meanings "tapping" which refers to the tapping of a specific tool (moli) on the skin by hand. Read more about Kakau and other Hawaiian traditions at the links below.
> 
>  **3.** In this universe, the traditional kakau ink (Pa'u) is a deep, dark color of purple.
> 
>  **4.** Shakespeare: Henry IV, Part 2, Act 2, Scene 4
> 
>  **Other notes:**  
>  *As a reminder, the twins (grunts I introduced in an earlier section) are fraternal, 14 year old boys. They look a lot alike except one (Pink) has broader shoulders. For unspecified reasons they go by the color of their hair (Pink and Blue) instead of their real names.
> 
> *In case anyone missed it, I wrote a short Epilogue to the last section (title: Pain Split). Link [ here](https://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com/post/616117901911588864/pain-split-epilogue)
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Thank you for reading! Feel free to ask questions or for clarifications! Getting to read comments sparks joy for me!
> 
> Don't understand a term or phrase? Try the links below!
> 
> [Tumblr page for convenient updates ](http://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com)  
> [Master list of terminology](https://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com/post/615394532986650624/master-list-of-terminology-jolly-rogers)  
> [HCs and Background Info](https://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com/post/615439164403597312/hcs-and-background-info-jolly-rogers)
> 
> Edit: I forgot to put this here whoops  
> [References and Resources](https://zz-chikorita.tumblr.com/post/615802247274708992/note-so-i-originally-made-this-post-just-to)


End file.
